Technical Field
This invention relates to the field of media players. More particularly, this invention relates to the ability to register a media with a player wherein registered media requires authorization to be played by the player.
Description of Related Art
The ratings for content of media such as DVDs and Blu-ray discs can range from “G” to “X”, while some content is not rated at all (NR). A family with children may have several “G” or “PG” rated DVDs or Blu-ray discs which are frequently viewed and can be loaded into a player and played by the children, sometimes without adult supervision. However, the adults may also rent or own DVDs or Blu-ray discs which are inappropriate for children that can be accidently or intentionally loaded and played by the children.
Even though media players such as DVD or Blu-ray players typically have parental control features to prevent content with a certain rating from being viewed, it is typically not used due to the set-up complexity and the broad range of content within a single rating category. For example, some movies are rated “PG” or “PG13” but may still contain some level of profanity, nudity, or violence that may be objectionable for children. Additionally, some families may have DVDs, Blu-ray discs or other media in their library that have controversial subject matter that they do not wish certain members of the family to view.
Since some media can contain subject matter that is inappropriate despite its rating, it is advantageous to be able to control which media is playable based on the media itself and not the rating of the media.